U.S.

Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

September 2001 #36

Drug Offense Cases in Juvenile Courts,

1989–1998
by Anne L. Stahl

Drug abuse violations was the criminal offense

Drug cases in juvenile court: 1989, 1994, and 1998
category with the highest arrest rate in 1999
Drug abuse violations, as defined by the FBI’s Uniform Crime 1989 1994 1998
Reporting Program (UCR), include offenses relating to the unlaw- Gender
ful possession, sale, use, growing, and manufacturing of narcotic Male 86% 86% 84%
and non-narcotic drugs. In 1999, an estimated 1,557,100 arrests Female 14 14 16
were made in which the most serious offense was a drug abuse Age (years) at time of referral
14 and younger 18% 20% 19%
violation. Persons younger than 18 years old accounted for 15 22 23 21
198,400 (13%) of these arrests. 16 30 30 31
17 and older 30 28 29
Race/ethnicity
Between 1990 and 1999, the increase in the juvenile drug White 58% 61% 68%
abuse violation arrest rate1 was greater for females than Black 40 37 29
for males (177% versus 105%) Other 2 2 3
Predisposition detention
Percentage change in drug abuse violation arrest rate, 1980–1999 Detained 36% 24% 23%
Not detained 64 76 77
120
Manner of handling
100 Drug Abuse Violation Formal 62% 61% 63%
80 Arrest Rate Informal 38 39 37
1990 1999
60 Male 527 1,081 Outcome of formal handling
40 Female 69 193 Adjudicated 65% 58% 63%
Females Not adjudicated 32 40 36
20
Males Waived to criminal court 3 2 1
0
Disposition of adjudicated cases
-20 Placed out of the home 36% 28% 23%
-40 Probation or supervision 54 51 59
Other (fines, restitution, etc.) 7 13 11
-60
1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 Dismissed or released 3 7 7

Note: Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.

◆ The juvenile drug abuse violation arrest rate declined 9%
between 1998 and 1999.
◆ The male juvenile arrest rate for drug abuse law violations
was more than five times the female rate in 1999 (1,081 versus
193).
◆ In 1999, the juvenile arrest rate for drug abuse violations
was twice the average rate of the 1980s for both males and
females.
1 Arrests per 100,000 persons ages 10–17.
Data source: Snyder, H. (2000). Juvenile Arrests 1999. Washington,
DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In 1999, drug abuse violations was the criminal offense category
with the highest arrest rate (586 per 100,000 persons in the popu-
lation). The juvenile arrest rate for the same category (arrests per
100,000 persons ages 10 to 17) was 649.
The number of juvenile court cases involving drug
offenses more than doubled between 1993 and 1998
In 1998, juvenile courts in the United States handled an estimated
192,500 delinquency cases in which a drug offense was the most
serious charge. Drug offense cases accounted for 11% of all de-
linquency cases in 1998, compared with 8% in 1994. Following a
pattern similar to juvenile arrests, juvenile court drug violation
caseloads declined from 1989 to 1991 but then increased sharply
through 1998. The number of drug offense cases processed during
1998 was 108% greater than in 1993 and 148% greater than 1989.
Males have historically accounted for the majority of drug offense
cases processed in juvenile courts. Between 1989 and 1998, males
accounted for 84% to 88% of drug violation cases. Among white
juveniles, males made up 81% to 84% of the drug offense case-
load, and among black juveniles, males accounted for 92% to
94%.
The proportion of the drug violation caseload involving white
youth declined from 1989 to 1991 (58% to 49%) and then steadi-
ly increased to 68% in 1998. For cases involving black juveniles,
this pattern was reversed. The proportion increased from 1989 to
1991 (40% to 49%), then steadily decreased to 29% in 1998.
Since 1990, the proportion of drug cases involving
detention has dropped steadily
The proportion of drug violation cases involving detention at
some point between court referral and case disposition peaked in
1990 at 38%, representing 26,900 cases. In 1998, this proportion
was 22% but represented 43,700 drug violation cases, an indica-
tion of the increased drug violation caseload. Although the num-
ber of drug violation cases involving detention increased 55%
between 1989 and 1998, the number of drug cases not involving
detention increased 200% (from 49,600 to 148,800), possibly
reflecting a limit of available juvenile detention bedspace.
Between 1994 and 1998, the formally processed
drug caseload increased more than 50%
Although juvenile courts handled a slightly higher percentage of
drug offense cases formally (with the filing of a petition) in 1998
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than in 1994 (63% versus 61%), the number of formally handled
drug cases increased more than 50% (from 79,500 to 121,100). In
1998, nearly 1% of formal drug cases were judicially waived to
criminal court, accounting for more than 16% of all the delin-
quency cases waived in that year.
The majority of formally processed drug cases (63%) resulted in
the juvenile being adjudicated delinquent, and in 23% of these
cases, the most severe disposition was residential placement. The
courts ordered probation in 59% of the cases, other sanctions in
11%, and in 7% the juvenile was released with no further sanctions.
In 1998, most formally petitioned drug cases that were not waived
or adjudicated were dismissed (67%). In 16% of these cases, the
juvenile agreed to informal probation and in another 15% to other
dispositions. About 2% of these cases resulted in voluntary out-of-
home placement.
For further information
This Fact Sheet is based on the forthcoming Report, Juvenile
Court Statistics 1998, which will be available on OJJDP’s Web
site (ojjdp.ncjrs.org). To learn more about juvenile court cases,
visit OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book (ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/
index.html) and click on “Juveniles in Court.” OJJDP also sup-
ports Easy Access to Juvenile Court Statistics, a Web-based appli-
cation that analyzes the data files used for the Juvenile Court
Statistics Report. This application is available from the Statistical
Briefing Book.
Anne L. Stahl is the Manager of Data Collection for the National
Juvenile Court Data Archive, which is supported by an OJJDP grant.
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is a component
of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice,
and the Office for Victims of Crime.
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